Page 271 of The Sinner: James

RAIN

Eve findsme curled up in a chair, staring blankly at the window.

“Rain?”

She quietly closes the door behind her.

“Oh, my God... What happened to you?” she asks, her voice flooded with disbelief.

The broken glass crunches beneath her heels, her hand sliding over my shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

I don’t say a thing. I can’t move.

She shakes my shoulder gently.

“Rain?”

She lowers herself in front of me and looks up, trying to catch my gaze.

“Who did this?”

I shift my eyes to her, tears trickling down my face.

“Him? Was it James?” she asks.

Nodding, I begin to sob.

She pushes up to her feet and wraps her arms around me.

“Let’s sit over there,” she says, nudging me to the sofa.

We lower ourselves on the couch, her arm curled around me.

“Did he hurt you?”

I shake my head.

“Here... Take this,” she says, handing me a tissue box. “What happened?” she asks, glancing around. “Were you two fighting?”

I nod.

“Who broke the Champagne bottle?”

“I did,” I murmur.

She softly strokes my hand.

“Was it that bad?”

I nod a couple of times.

“What did he do to you?”

“I can’t tell you.”

She brings her fingers to my face and brushes a few strands of hair away.

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